The Identity (interlude #9)

Who the fuck am I?

Who is this guy who shares these horrible drawings with you? What's he like in real life? Does it matter? Maybe I'm the asshole who made your sister cry when I slept with her best friend. Maybe I kill kittens on the weekends and puppies on holidays. Maybe I have a sinister mustache! Or maybe I'd be your best friend if we met. Maybe I'd be the love of your life if we spent an evening together. Who knows what identity lies beyond these posts... And don't forget; this question can easily be turned around: Who the fuck are you? We connect through a couple of funnels sharing only a fraction of what we are. We are so much more. Good and bad. Infinite possibilities... Nice to meet you.

The Enlightened Mannequin

They say the world holds many subtle secrets. As many as the stars that fill the universe... Diego never cared for any of them. He also never cared about his brain, his heart or his soul. His looks got him all the modeling gigs, parties, weed and girls he ever wanted. He flew over problems and everything was simple. He was happy...

Then something happened. Diego got sick and he woke up from the empty, mannequin dream he was living in. Hanging over the abyss by a thread, he began to unlock a new world. As he bled, he also began to grow parts of himself that he didn't even know he had. After several months of chemotherapy, Diego's health stabilized, but the fear and the pain had changed the world around him forever. He doesn't smile as much, but believe me, Diego's eyes are much more open now. Friendlier, too.

The Farting Boyfriend

Once upon a time, Lewis accidently slipped a fart in front of his girlfriend. Two long hours of awkward silence followed. When he told me what had happened, he was so embarrassed that I tried to calm him down with something I had learned: "Slipping farts in front of a girlfriend is a sign of love. When you love someone and you feel comfortable around them, this sort of thing just happens. Slipping a fart is another way of saying 'I love you'. The next time it happens, just tell her that."

The problem was that Lewis exploited this piece of fail-safe wisdom. He was so happy with it, that he started farting in front of her on purpose, following each fart with a smile and a "I love you". At first, she thought it was cute, but after a few days, it got rotten old. Lewis eventually quit his heart farts and things went back to normal. I think his girlfriend should have let a few out on purpose. Just to see how he liked it.

Happy Valentine's Day, you crazy kidz!

The Demon Crusher

It doesn't matter how many times you go to church, we've all got a demon inside. And I don't mean the one who tells you to wear that tough looking leather jacket or the one who convinces you to put on those slutty high heel boots or even the one who suggests you go egg-bomb your neighbor's house; I'm talking about that hardcore motherfucker that'll make you act like a total asshole. 

Matt has a demon, too. His demon is anger. Any misinterpreted word or unintentional bump would be enough to make him go ballistic. People would get hurt. Ever since his mom died, Matt's changed. He's calmed himself down. Matt has crushed his inner demon and has had it trapped ever since. Matt told me that the thing about an inner demon is that you can't just wait for your mental walls to slowly do the job, you have to weaken the fucker's joints and crush it into a puddle of pulp. Quickly and ruthlessly.
Happy crushing!

The Scared Atheist

"In life, we've got friends, girlfriends, clothes, nature, art, pets, music, movies, the night, books, cigarettes, video games, food, cars, alcohol, jewelry...  All the things a girl needs to be happy."

"And in death? In death, we get nothing. Nothing at all. If that doesn't put the fear of god into you, then I don't know what will. Obviously, I'd rather believe in the hard truth than in some invisible bearded man who sits in a cloud rewarding the just and punishing the wicked, but that doesn't mean that the truth doesn't scare the shit out of me."

As an atheist, this is what Betty believes the after-life is: Nothing. She doesn't care about the unfairness of the most vicious murdering rapist sharing the same fate as the nicest person on earth, nor does she care that all her fears will vanish as soon as she's dead. All Betty cares about is that when her lights finally go out, all the amazing things she's lived for, will be no more. Nothingness might not affect the dead, but it can be one hell of a scary thought for the living. 

The Fighter

Kaori's story is a story of sadness...

Ever since she could remember, Kaori has lived buried underneath the weight of her soul-dead family and a ton of their small minded bullshit. They are petty fools who don't fully grasp the notion of love. Every chance they get, they make her feel like a failure, less than human; but under all that emotional ruble, Kaori still fights to achieve her dreams. Slowly but surely, she grows, willing the day when she will become bigger than the ton of rubble above her. A couple of months ago, she carved her name on her own arm so that everyone knows who the girl under the rubble is. She is Kaori and soon enough, she'll be kicking ass!

Kaori's story is also a story of hope.

The Irrelevant Voter

You can call him Phil, but names are meaningless among the meat puppets. With a pat on the back, they scooped away his identity as soon as he reached the legal voting age.

He doesn't have a face, just his number.

He doesn't have a voice, just a silent nod in acceptance.

He doesn't have a brain, just the purpose: Keep the status quo!

He is an irrelevant voter. Maybe we are too...

The Resolution Breaker

Resolutions...

We all make them, right? Monica does, and every year, she tells me that this is The Year. The year where everything changes. The year where she totally commits to her list and where her resolutions finally come true... They never do.
Besides the resolution making, Monica also gets drunk on every New Year's Eve. I mean totally fucking drunk. The kind of drunk that'll make you piss yourself because 'it seemed like the reasonable thing to do at the time' and that'll give you a two week hangover that makes you wish you were dead. Yeah, Monica loses her head. The willpower of a fresh start on the first of January drowns in a mix of cheese dip, jello shots, tequila, and champagne. The resolutions are lost. Sometimes, Monica manages to re-start some of them, but they quickly fade into failure. Whatever the reasons, we tend to break our resolutions...

Let this year be different. Let this year be The Year. 
Her year. Your year. My year.
Or not. No pressure.

The Kung fu Dancer

Despite his hardcore looks, Ginn is actually a nice guy. He's a gentle soul who loves music and never hurts anyone… intentionally. The thing about Ginn is that he loses it when he’s on the dance floor. In the darkness of a club, he lets the vibrating music take control of his body and he forgets that there are people around him. Kung fu classes and all the ketamin he swallows just makes things worse, but it’s hard to hate a guy who’s as polite as Ginn is. I once saw him break a girl’s nose. He didn't do it on purpose, it was an accident. Ginn immediately apologized and offered a round to the girl and her boyfriend, but apologies and free drinks don’t clean up the blood. So, as you can imagine, Ginn used to get into a lot of trouble because of his dancing skills. Lately, he's been much calmer; occasionally though, unknowing bystanders will still get their asses served by The Kung fu Dancer. 

The Christmas Inverter

A couple of days before Christmas, my mom and I visited her neighbor, Mrs. Fields. In her living room I saw an inverted Christmas tree. I'm relatively open minded, but to be totally honest, the first time I saw it, it looked like something the Devil would put up. Was Mrs. Fields a priestess in some Satan worshiping cult? Only after a google search did I realize how common these inverted trees have become. Despite my shock, it's just a normal Christmas tree turned on it's head. It doesn't necessarily change the true meanings of Christmas, but maybe it's a sign of the times...
Christmas is about peace, loved ones, homemade cooking, good will towards others... but many of us have inverted it's meaning. Instead of being nice to each other, we just want 'presents'. We lick our greedy little fingers as the world turns upside down. Mrs. Fields isn't like that. She's a sweet old lady who always has cookies and kind words to share. She inverts the selfish wanting and makes her Christmas about something better: sharing.

Hope you beautiful people had a beautiful Christmas.